Officials cancelled scores of domestic flights in and out of Beijing on Wednesday as they ramped up attempts to contain a coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese capital over the past week that has sparked fears of renewed wider contagion.
Health officials recorded 31 new confirmed infections for June 16, bringing the cumulative infections since Thursday to 137 cases, the worst resurgence of the disease in the city since early February.
Aviation data tracker Variflight showed that half the scheduled inbound flights and 40% of outbound flights from Beijing Capital International Airport, one of the city's two major airports, have been or will likely be cancelled on Wednesday. The majority of the flights are domestic routes, with direct international flight routes banned three months ago when the city was grappling with the first wave of infections.
Authorities on Tuesday raised Beijing to a level two alert, the second-highest level in a four-tier COVID-19 emergency response level system. That reversed a one step downgrade from level two to level three a mere 10 days earlier.
Some 27 neighbourhoods have been designated as medium-risk areas, subjecting people entering to temperature checks and registration, as of Tuesday. One neighbourhood, near the massive wholesale food centre detected as the source of the latest outbreak, was marked high-risk.
Under the level two restrictions, the city's roads and highways were still open, companies and factories were not ordered to stop work, and there was no blanket curb on residential compounds.
However, movement of people in and out of the city was strictly controlled and subject to COVID-19 tests, while residents in high-risk areas were quarantined in their neighbourhoods and also required to undergo tests. Kindergartens, primary schools and high schools were all shut.
The outbreak has been traced to the massive Xinfadi wholesale food centre in the southwest of Beijing where thousands of tonnes of vegetables, fruit and meat are traded each day.
The new coronavirus was first identified in December at a seafood market in Wuhan, capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei, and has since spread around the world, infecting more than 8 million people.
CONTAGION RISKS
State media has cited experts as saying the latest outbreak in Beijing was different from Wuhan because the cases were localised and the source of the infection was clear, allowing authorities to more easily get the situation under control.
However, Hebei, Liaoning, Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces have all reported new cases linked to Xinfadi, leading provinces concerned about contagion to impose quarantine requirements on visitors from Beijing.
Northeastern Heilongjiang province, which only recently brought a local outbreak under control, said it will impose 21 days of quarantine on people who have had contact with Xinfadi or have a history of residence in medium to high risk areas in Beijing.
Heilongjiang said it will also require any other travellers from Beijing to quarantine at a centralised location for up to three days, followed by another 14 days of self-isolation.
Reuters
Wed Jun 17 2020
Ringgit susut berbanding dolar AS pada sesi awal
Pada 9 pagi, ringgit merosot kepada 4.7715/7810 berbanding mata wang Amerika Syarikat (AS) daripada 4.7650/7710 pada Jumaat.
Guna semula bangunan pawagam lama, bangkit suasana klasik
Ia bukan sahaja mampu menarik ramai pelancong tetapi juga mampu memulihara bangunan warisan yang masih elok dan ditatap oleh generasi kini.
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: PM Anwar jumpa 50 pemimpin industri, perniagaan global
PM yakin lebih banyak pelabur bernilai tinggi akan pilih Malaysia sebagai destinasi pelaburan.
Dipaksa bersalin normal, kepala bayi songsang terputus
Bahagian kemaluannya juga terkoyak teruk dan dijahit sebarangan oleh staf Rumah Sakit Banjarmasin.
AWANI Ringkas: Tangani isu ketidaksamaan & marginalisasi
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Pagi: Twincity Marathon rai golongan kelainan upaya (OKU)
Perbezaan fizikal tidak melunturkan semangat golongan kelainan upaya (OKU) untuk menyertai acara larian Twincity Marathon anjuran Ten Senses di Cyberjaya pada Ahad.
Menurut Ketua Penasihat Ten Senses Sdn Bhd, Datuk Najib Ibrahim, komuniti itu juga merupakan sebahagian dari masyarakat dan semangat mereka boleh dijadikan teladan kepada masyarakat.
Menurut Ketua Penasihat Ten Senses Sdn Bhd, Datuk Najib Ibrahim, komuniti itu juga merupakan sebahagian dari masyarakat dan semangat mereka boleh dijadikan teladan kepada masyarakat.
Kanak-kanak Malaysia tidak cukup belajar di sekolah - Laporan Bank Dunia
Hanya 58 peratus pelajar di Malaysia didapati mahir membaca menjelang akhir Darjah 5.
Protes di universiti AS tidak tunjuk tanda perlahan
Dalam dua minggu lalu, protes pro-Palestin telah merebak ke kampus kolej utama di seluruh AS.
37 juta tan serpihan runtuhan di Gaza - UNMAS
Terdapat juga sejumlah besar senjata api yang tidak meletup tertimbus di dalam runtuhan yang menimbulkan risiko kepada kerja pembersihan.
Legenda EPL puji padang SNBJ
Pemain Manchester Reds dan Liverpool Reds memuji keadaan rumput yang cantik dan bersedia untuk kembali beraksi pada masa akan datang.
Lai Ching-te dari DPP menang Pilihan Raya Taiwan
Lai berdepan saingan tiga penjuru dengan Hou Yu-ih dari Kuomintang (KMT) dan Ko Wen-je dari Parti Rakyat Taiwan.
Pilihan Raya Taiwan: Rakyat mula jalankan tanggungjawab masing-masing
Pilihan raya tersebut menyusul ketika Beijing meningkatkan tekanan untuk mendapatkan pulau itu menerima kedaulatannya.
Beijing alami lebih banyak salji, gelombang sejuk dijangka melanda
Kawasan perbandaran Beijing mengalami lebih banyak salji pada Khamis dengan gelombang sejuk dijangka melanda ibu negara China itu pada Jumaat.
33 maut hujan paling lebat landa Beijing
Sekurang-kurangnya lima pekerja bantuan adalah antara mangsa yang maut. 18 orang lagi mangsa masih hilang.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Blinken tiba di China bagi kendurkan ketegangan
Beberapa siri pertemuan dengan wakil kerajaan berpangkat tinggi dirancang sebelum Blinken berlepas pada Isnin.
Gelombang panas landa beijing, suhu cecah 39 darjah Celsius
Bandar raya Beijing mengeluarkan amaran pada tahap oren berikutan suhu tinggi diramal mencecah 39 darjah Celsius pada Jumaat, menurut pihak berkuasa cuaca tempatan.
Diplomat kanan China, AS bincang tingkatkan hubungan dua hala
Perbincangan itu diadakan di Beijing pada 5 Jun, lapor Sputnik yang memetik Kementerian Luar China pada Selasa.
Presiden Xi mahu Beijing terajui bidang sains dan teknologi
China komited meneruskan strategi keterbukaan serta sedia berganding tangan dengan semua untuk mempromosi inovasi sains dan teknologi.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.